News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Better Block KC Tames Oak Street in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison A stretch of Oak Street in the Crossroads will be a lot chiller through Oct. 27 thanks to Better Block KC, a “tactical urbanism” design group. Last Sunday, about a dozen volunteers with the group transformed a two-block section of Oak between 17th and 19th streets from what sometimes can be a…
Power & Light District Adding Hotel Karaoke, Expanded No Other Pub
The Kansas City Power & Light District is adding a new karaoke concept to the second floor space in the KC Live! block formerly occupied by the Hotel Night Club. The new Hotel Karaoke is expected to open for private events this December and will have a grand opening in early 2019, according to a…
Crossroads Shapes Up with New Men’s Barber Shop
By Kevin Collison The influx of new businesses and services in the Crossroads now includes a men’s barber shop in the mix. Dane Casey has opened his Venturemen Barbering Shoppe inside the EAST + WEST men’s clothing store at 1828 Grand Blvd. He offers what he describes as “high-quality men’s grooming” that includes haircuts, beard…
Poetry And Motion
For Isra Abdullah, art is a release — almost like the steam from a teapot. A native of Kurdistan, and a Sunni Muslim, Isra’s family escaped the sectarian violence in Iraq a decade ago. A relief agency in Turkey resettled the family in Kansas City, Missouri, when Isra was a third-grader. Along with her parents,…
Afterword Tavern Brings Fresh Food, Drink and Ideas to Crossroads
By Kevin Collison If there’s one thing Christian Overgaard would like to see happen when people visit his new place, Afterword Tavern & Shelves, its having their curiosity awakened. “We keep coming back to a theme of discovery,” he said. “A place where someone walks in and by the time they leave, maybe they know…
Long Lines in Kansas, Sanders’ Pension and Untested Rape Kits
KCPT’s Nick Haines, executive director of public affairs and Week in Review host, picks out the big stories of the week ahead and the interesting stories you may have missed. The First Votes Have Been Cast Election Day may not be until November, but the first ballots have already been cast here at home. Absentee…
Copaken Brooks Apartment Tower Starts Construction in November
By Kevin Collison Construction is expected to begin in November on the 14-story Copaken Brooks apartment tower at 18th and Walnut, with completion anticipated in spring 2020. The $40 million project will bring residential life in the Crossroads Arts District to a new level, adding 132 apartments to the neighborhood as well as additional retail…
Schools Tackling the Soft Skills Deficit
Educators around the region are implementing project- and career-oriented learning to engage kids. But in the Center School District, at least, another key constituency is excited too. Neal Weitzel is the director of college and career readiness in the district, which is located in Kansas City, Missouri, and he recounted parents’ reaction at a recent…
Event and Commercial Uses Planned for Longtime Eyesore Buildings on Grand
By Kevin Collison The last major blighted properties along an approximately four-block stretch of Grand Boulevard between 19th Street and Truman Road are slated for redevelopment as luxury event space and commercial uses. Matt Abbott, a prolific Crossroads Arts District developer, plans to convert the deteriorated building at 1616 Grand into an event complex he’s…
‘Feminine Energy’ Infusing Faiths
Well before this #MeToo era of unmasked sexual misconduct — with its appalling revelation that an admitted sexual predator can be elected president — faith communities began to recognize that they have been complicit in the sin of misogyny. Today that recognition is turning into constructive action as people of faith across the nation, including…